It Comes At Night (spoiler free)

I just saw this film at the theater today.

I've wanted to see this since I first heard about it, some months ago, and one reason is because of the studio, A24, which has put out a string of interesting, quirky, and effective movies (like least year's Best Picture winner, Moonlight, as well as The Witch--both of which I have in my personal Blu Ray collection and can recommend to you as excellent films).

A word of warning--it's not quite the movie the ad campaign makes it out to be. It's not a typical horror film. It's much more subtle than that, but at the same time, a lot more brutal in the emotions it conveys. It's the darkest movie, tonally, I've seen in a long time.

The basic plot involves a family of good people--not ex-military special ops, not law enforcement, nothing particularly bad ass--trying to survive in a terrible situation. They do what they feel like they have to do, to survive. Some decisions they make aren't good but, again, they do what they think is best. Society as we know it is dead and they're left on their own.

The rumor is the screenwriter/director Trey Edward Shults was grieving the loss of his father when he wrote the screenplay, and it shows. Grief permeates this film. Not the scarred over, still achy on rainy days kind of grief. This is the bleeding, raw, fresh, throbbing, exposed kind grief of someone who has just recently experienced a loss that, to them, makes going on living seem to be the worst possible fate. This film is personal to Shults--he ripped the freshly-applied bandage off the wound to show it to the world. I think it was cathartic for him to make it, and it's cathartic for us to watch it.

The cast is dead-solid perfect, especially Joel Edgerton (Paul). Edgerton also has an executive producer credit.

I'm glad I saw this movie. Having said that, it's not the kind of movie I'll see again. I recommend it to you after reminding you one more time--it's really dark. Not the usual horror movie kind of dark, either. Dark in an existential way that may be a little too effective at conveying the emotion the filmmakers want to convey.

I give it a solid A. Go see it. And go see any other A24 movies that you can find, too. You will not regret it.

On getting older and analysis paralysis

I'm having trouble deciding on a new project.

That's not the only thing I'm having problems with, but everything else seems to have, at its root, the same cause.

As I get older I become keenly aware of the passage of time, and I begrudge any wasting of it. Which, paradoxically, results in me wasting more time. For example--I don't want to start on a project, spend months hammering away on it, only to abandon it because it's not going anywhere. So, I spend more and more time trying to decide what to work on next instead of actually working on something.

This wasn't an issue when I was younger because I felt like I was going to live for eons. Now, I really doubt I'll be alive ten years from now. As a consequence, I don't want to spend the time I have remaining spinning my wheels. Which means I'm spending a lot of time indulging in wheel spinning.

When I was younger, ten years was an eternity. Now, it's nothing. A blink of an eye. Up and gone before you know it.

Ten years isn't a lot of time when it comes to making movies. Even if funding isn't an issue it still takes a good two years to put something out. Which means if I get busy now and get successful now I may leave this world with five movies to my credit.

Of course, I'll be lucky to get one movie made. It's the thought that counts, and there's nothing like putting something in perspective to scare the crap out of yourself.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this. I guess I'm just talking to myself, especially since nobody reads these things anyway.

At the moment I have an idea for a drama that I'm pretty excited about, and I think it'll result in a thoughtful, provocative movie that people would want to see, if I can get it made. But I haven't committed to it yet. I'm still toying with the basic idea and trying to decide on the specifics, especially for the ending. I don't even have a title.

We'll see if it amounts to anything. Hopefully it won't take very long for me to make up my mind about it and get started writing it. Or, you know, not.

Time is wasting, you know.